The importance of large scale
manufacturing sector in domestic as well as in international trade can not be
denied for its capability to shore up country's foreign exchange reserves and to
give impetus to economic activities leading to bulky gross development product.
On one hand the proper utilization and management of scale of production of this
sector can bring up products in surplus for exports and it can generate
multitude of employment and investment opportunities on the other.

Nay more, as in Pakistan sufficient
numbers of manufacturing sectors give large scale of production parallel focus
on each can multiply the share of LSM in total gross development product, and
too get the exchequers rid of unnecessary import loads.

History has not done justice with the
few sub-sectors of large scale manufacturing; therefore, their growth rate has
either experienced stagnation or slide downwards gradually. What indeed had been
in practice in past was preferential treatment to selected segments while others
succumbed to neglect and started recording negative growth rates. Rather few
manufacturing expertise has never been untapped in its actual sense in all
successive governments.

Overleaping all these, however, the
growth of LSM in last fiscal has persisted year on year momentum. Not only
during July-April 2008 that witnessed 4.7 percent change in growth of LSM but
indeed in a span of nine years from fiscal 1999 to 2008 did LSM exhibit
cumulative growth average rate of 4%, which is at satisfactory level if
aggregate growth of entire large scale manufacturing accounts for. Its
contribution of Rs. 7 trillion in real gross development product of Rs. 54.9
trillion in last fiscal was the highest among counterparts such as small scale
manufacturing, mining and quarrying, and construction in the industry.

But, alarm rises on estimating the
separate shares of the red zones moving downward on the growth trajectory
determining percentage change in growth of LSM during the aforementioned period.
These red zones namely automobile, fertilizers, metal industries, and
electronics have some of the manufacturing hallmarks started depicting negative
growth rates during almost a year.

Items manufactured in some of these
sub-sectors of large scale manufacturing are relatively consumed locally to have
been propping up real GDP of the country, and made main input sources for the
allied industries nonetheless their incapacity to meet local demands let alone
to provide surplus. Till April of last fiscal negative growth for manufacturing
was shown in automobile (0.1%), tyres and tubes (4.1%), electronics (3.2%),
metal industries (8.3%)-despite production capacity enhancement of Pak Steel,
billets production was reversed by 18.3%-, and fertilizers (12.2%).

It is worthwhile to remember that due
to emergence of competition in electronic media services people got to change in
their buying patterns and above all consumption of income on buying electronic
gadgets increased manifold. Contrary to this would become a good sign for local
manufacturers of electronics items, psychographic dynamics shuttered on flood of
imported gizmos to have undermined local production of electronic items;
benefits of the turnaround seemed to be overshadowed.

While in a subsequent effect local
manufacturers obtained a chance to augment capacity of producing TV sets, which
till April 2008 revealed 17.5% growth, they suffered setback in other items like
deep freezer and electric transformer, production of which moved backward by 10%
and 34% respectively. Barring them, manufacturing of refrigerator, TV, Air
conditioner, fans, etc. grew positively. Yet overall result of electronic
production hinged on negative position paradoxically. Thus, its ratio of
contribution in real GDP automatically recorded decline.

Beleaguered within the disharmonious
polity, people around the country had began undergoing fuel price hike
vivisection last year, precipitated lately, and showing annoyance over out of
market practices of charging extra money on four wheeler. As expected, this
resulted in decline in production of automobiles. During July-April 08, large
scale manufacturing for cars and jeeps registered reverse growth trend of 5%
while for tractors it was of 3.2%. Still, government prefers subsidizing imports
of tractors instead of accoutring industry with the required facilities to
manufacture tractors locally, which is comparatively convenient and cost-cutting
measure.

It is surprising to note that while
agriculture sector of the country is performing satellite source of inputs to
various trade and industry its essential input needs are fulfilled through
imports, causing outflow of foreign reserves across the border. Ranging from
DAP, fertilisers, pesticides, to tractors and harvesting machineries, local
industry has not been self sustainable in to abridge local agrarian demand
supply gaps, inevitably forcing import bills up. Manufacturing of fertilizers (phosphatic,
nitrogenous) in the country is not enough quantitatively and qualitatively to
quash expenses on purchasing fertilizers from abroad. The local production of
fertilizers has also gone into negative side last fiscal. It recorded 12.2%
negative growth rate as compared to preceding year.

Textile group, which is the vital
export revenue generator for Pakistan, is too prominent a cause of elevating and
maintaining growth rate of large scale manufacturing sector year on year and a
principal shareholder in real GDP. Though imports of inputs in this sector
reduce the volume of trade surplus to approximately $2 billion achieved by the
textile group, its overall consistency in progress until yet provides great
sustenance to balance of trade as well as to GDP. In terms of GDP's share,
textile group has surfaced as a largest contributor in LSM by showing 2.5%
change in growth.

In Pakistan, large scale manufacturing
occurs mainly in textile, automobile, food & tobacco, metal industries,
petroleum products, fertilizers, pharmaceuticals, electronics, chemicals,
non-metallic minerals, engineering items, leather products, paper & board,
tyres & tubes, and wood products. Well versed is the fact that there are few
pitfalls in availing full potentials of large scale as equal support to all sub
sectors calls for availability of prerequisites like technology and cost
efficient mechanism. But, negative growth can be turned into positive if
preference to indigenization is given. For this overriding strategies on the
basis of circumstances should be chalked out. Advisably, current ruling economic
team does not repeat the mistakes of predecessors by bestowing preferential
treats to selected trade and commerce.